Why is it so important that we love the Lord, our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

I believe the importance lies within the relationship we are to have as Believers. We as Christians are all the Bride of Christ. In a marriage relationship, there must be communication, respect, truth, love, and trust. Without these things, there is no ‘marriage’…you’d be more like room mates.

However, most of our conversations with the Lord consist of us telling Him what we want and need. We rarely ask Him what He wants and needs from us! Why is this so? I honestly believe that some, if not all of us are afraid to ask God what He wants and needs from us. We are fearful that He will ask us to go to a place we’d rather not go…or do something that we don’t want to do, OR to stop doing the things we are doing. So we stay in our ‘stale state’ of pretending to be a good Christian, but never reach our full potential.

For those of us that have children, we know how sad it is to see our child not live up to his/her full potential! It’s heartbreaking! Our sad wail is, “They could have been so much more!” I’m sure the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have a few of those same conversations about some of us!

Shellie made a lot of good points in this chapter! The one that stuck out most to me was when she said, “God isn’t meant to be a PART of our lives…HE IS OUR LIFE!” She went on to say that the only way for us to accomplish God being our life, is to “Ask…and keep asking. Seek…and keep seeking. Knock…and keep knocking.” That statement really struck me as I thought about God in His pursuit of me and my eternal soul! I recall Him “Asking me” to come to Him several times! I could feel His presence as He “sought me out.” And even when I tried to hide from Him, His “knock” at the door of my heart grew louder! So, I realize now that persistence, and constant prayer is the key to allowing God to BE our life!

When I finally get to see Jesus face to face, I want to see a smile cross His face as He welcomes me home! I want Him to say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant! You loved me with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength…AND you loved your brothers and sisters in Christ…even though some of them were hard to love. You kept my commandment to love them and your neighbors as much as you loved yourself!”

So-as hard as it is sometimes in my flesh, I strive to give my broken want-to to Jesus on a daily basis. I’ll admit…He has to remind me from time to time, because I’d rather let my fleshly desires kick in, and take care of nasty people and situations by myself…in my own way; and…I admit that I do try to give Him some pointers on how He should handle things…but He gently reminds me that My way…is NOT His way, and that His way is always best!

Years ago, I wrote a poem about my desire to see Him…face to face. Some days, my longing to go Home and be with Him, causes me to ache! It’s a desire that is so deep, I can hardly wait to see Him…to look upon His face…to catch that first glimpse of His smile as I enter that wonderful place called Heaven!

Here is the last stanza of the poem I wrote called, All of Who I am!

…When my brown hair turns to gray…

My life slowly slips away…

When the lines upon my face,

Mark the course of my life’s race;

With my destination in full view,

I’ll bid my loved ones here adieu..

I’ll be looking just for YOU, Jesus…

And that smile will cross Your face! -anita

Are you ready to meet Him, face to face? Or, do you have some broken things in your life that you’d like Him to fix first? Take them to Jesus! He’s ready, willing and able to fix whatever is broken in your life-especially your want-to!

10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord.

11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?

12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.

13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to- day, ye shall see them again no more forever. -Exodus 14:10-13

14The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.

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As a kid growing up, I always marveled at this story! It was one of my favorites.

Dr. Jeremiah was telling the story of Denny Morrison the speed skater. During his career, he encountered many obstacles, but with fierce determination, he pushed through them all to arrive at his goal. I’m sure during the times of his severe health problems, fear crept in as well as discouragement; but he never gave up!

We as saints of God are to have the same fierceness regarding our walk with God. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 24:16, “for though a righteous man falls seven times, he will rise again…” How can that be? What gives us the strength to keep getting up? It is nothing less than girding our loins with truth, and our faith and trust in a mighty God. He gives us the strength and the courage to rise again and keep going!

We all experience various times of weakness throughout our life. But we must always remember that Jesus has already won the battle. We possess the victory through Christ and His shed blood. Paul reminds us that we are not fighting for victory but from the victory that Christ already secured for us at the cross.

So when the enemy comes knocking…do we run…or STAND? The choice is yours; but be careful how you choose, for one choice makes you win…but the other, makes you lose!

Make the choice to win! Stand your ground, and let the Lord fight your battles. We must align ourselves with the truth of God if we are going to stand firm in our faith. You do your part through prayer and the study of God’s Word! Remember what the author said? ….”If your Bible is falling apart, it usually means that YOU are NOT!” Buckle up before going out!

Worship and Praise are also weapons of our warfare against the enemy. Practice them daily along with your Bible reading and prayer time! Allow God to fill the broken places of your life. Let Him bond them together and strengthen you with His peace!

Overcoming is a spiritual issue. There are three main obstacles to overcome sin, the world, and the

devil. When we face these obstacles, we must NOT look at the physical implications. The devil will ALWAYS make the problems appear to be much larger than they are! I don’t have a dishwasher, so every time I have company over for dinner, by the time they leave…I have dirty dishes on the stove, the counters, and filling both sinks! It looks like it will take me all night to get the kitchen cleaned up. But…once I sort everything out, I find, it’s not really that big of a job after all. The same holds true of the trials and tribulations we face in life. Sometimes, our problems look insurmountable…but if we give them to God and let Him sort them out, we will find they really aren’t that big! Ministry is no different. When and if God calls you to do something…just go ahead and do it. There will be many who tell you that you’re NOT qualified, you can’t do it, it’s impossible, stop being proud, etc. The disdain and angry remarks will continue long after you have accomplished your task. But if you do it as unto the Lord, and in the power of HIS might, you WILL achieve success! Dr. Jeremiah gave five key points in becoming an Overcomer. 1. Refuse to be discouraged. Be persistent in your calling! 2. Reinforce your focus. Look to God for direction and help. 3. Reflect on your past victories. Take a look at what God has brought you through. So encouraging! 4. Run toward the problem or challenge. Meet it head-on! 5. Remember WHO your captain is…THE LORD ALMIGHTY. Do it for Him! In his message to the troops, General Dwight D. Eisenhower started out his speech with these words, “…The eyes of the world are upon you…” The eyes of the world are upon us Believers who profess to KNOW and serve a living God as well, but even more importantly, the eyes of the LORD HIMSELF are upon us, and when we follow His call, He will show himself strong in our behalf and we WILL succeed in our purpose! Take a look at 2 Chronicles 16:9…it’s a promise you can count on! 9 For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. -2 Chronicles 16:9 KJV The General’s speech went on to say, “Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped, and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely…. But I have full confidence in your devotion to duty and skill in battle.” Can God Almighty say that about you? Is your heart completely His? Can He count on you to be devoted to His cause? This battle between Believers and Satan’s hoards is REAL people! ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER! Put on the full armor of God and get ready to fight! Anita Mondragon

We, Christians hear all the time that we need to have a relationship with Jesus. We have all heard the Great Commandment…”To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” Why is this so important?

Wow! “Heart Wide Open” just gets better and better. Meaning that God continues to move in my heart and allows me to see wonderful things in His word and in His people. “May We Have Permission To Slap ‘Em Silly In Jesus’ Name” touched a time in my heart that I will never forget, nor do I want to.